The Ukrainian presidency accused the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday of advancing the war in Ukraine by allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics under a neutral flag.
“The IOC is a promoter of war, death and destruction. The IOC looks gleefully at Russia’s destruction of Ukraine and then provides a platform for Russia to promote genocide” of Ukrainians, wrote Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, on the social network Twitter.
#IOC is a promoter of war, murder and destruction. The IOC happily watches RF destruction and then provides a platform to promote genocide and encourage their further killings.
Ru money buying Olympic hypocrisy clearly doesn’t smell like blood. #Bach?– Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) January 30, 2023
On Wednesday, the IOC admitted the reintegration of Russian and Belarusian athletes into international competitions, despite the sanctions imposed on the political and sporting structures of these two countries, following the invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022.
According to the IOC, “no athlete should be banned from competition solely on the basis of his passport”.
Faced with this possibility, supported by the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, but contested by several countries, such as the United Kingdom and Denmark, Ukraine has already admitted to boycotting the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Clearly, the money that can buy Olympic hypocrisy doesn’t smell like Ukrainian blood. It won’t, sir.’ [Thomas] Bach]questioned Mykhailo Podolyak while addressing the IOC President.
The opening to Russian and Belarusian athletes angered Ukrainians and the president Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday denounced the IOC’s “hypocrisy” and invited Bach to visit Bakhmut, in the east of the country, one of the areas hardest hit by the war with Russia.
On Sunday, Zelensky stated in his daily speech that he had written a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron about this.
“Olympism and terrorist states must not intersect,” Zelensky said, after Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Goutzeit threatened to boycott the Games on Thursday.
Source: DN
